Wall Street stockbroker and Chinese billionaire Kenneth Huang is set to launch a £237 million bid to takeover Liverpool by offering to buy over the club’s debt from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The chairman of Hong Kong-based QSL Sports group believes that by doing so, he will have the upper hand in the battle to oust the club’s American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, with the former now trying to delay RBS’s acceptance of the offer by presenting Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi as a potential competing bidder for the Anfield giants.
The Telegraph reported that Gillett had notified RBS of talks with Kirdi that could see both him and Hicks sell their stake in the debt-laden club to the former Syria international footballer, who is reportedly backed by wealthy investors from the United Arab Emirates. However, it is believed that Kirdi has no such backing and that the American is simply hoping to force Huang to come up with an improved offer.
Huang has apparently already received backing from several Liverpool senior officials as well as players, with the club’s Spanish star Fernando Torres having delayed any public announcement of his future and commitment to the club after being asked to wait for the outcome of the takeover process.
Huang is eager to complete negotiations and the takeover bid in time to allow Reds boss Roy Hodgson to bring in more reinforcements before the end of the summer transfer window for the new season. The proposal to repay most of the club’s debt has however been met with resistance by the co-owners who are determined to not relinquish control without receiving a significant profit from their initial investment.
However, RBS can put themselves in charge of the sale of the club as a result of the refinancing deal Hicks and Gillett agreed with the bank earlier this year as a measure to ensure the loan can be repaid, and chairman Martin Broughton had also recently hinted that a sale could take place as early as before the new Premier League season.
Sources at Liverpool do not believe that Kirdi would be able to raise any realistic counteroffer and there is growing concern that should the American owners continue to jeopardise any practical takeover bid for the club in order to pursue personal gain, Liverpool could be put into administration by the bank if the debt laid on the club becomes distressed debt.
Tags: English Premier League, George Gillett, Kenneth Huang, Liverpool, Liverpool debt, Tom Hicks
